Fixed an issue causing the placeholder dog avatar to appear briefly upon first entry into the Classic Lobby browser.
Story Mode
Linux: Fixed various issues with NPC appearance randomization.
Fixed a typo in the Reine museum front desk dialogue.
Stages
Fixed a DMS issue with the Hidden Waterfall stage introduced in the last hotpatch.
Characters
Fixed blocking Trample on the same frame as landing resulting in Arizona continuing the entire Trample animation.
6B now causes an increased amount of JD.
Developer's Notes: This change is intended to further mitigate the opening attack refund for 6B. Players should still explode from a raw 3 touch exchange, but overall combo potential at the tail-end should be reduced.
Wind no longer affects opponents who are doing a super.
Fixed an issue causing Paprika's Cinnamon Roll to stop moving after eating one of her own gifts.
Fixed a resurgent issue causing Paprika's gifts being able to be eaten twice.
Fixed Picnic Surprise! gifts being vulnerable to Paprika's own attacks.
Fixed instances of Fred's attacks not reducing JD on first hit.
The afterimage effect on Shanty during Avast! has been toned down from a raging typhoon to a controlled cascade (as intended for 2.0 but was missed).
Cutlass B now causes an increased amount of JD.
Fixed Breaker being able to be pushblocked multiple times even after the attack had finished.
Stampede Tournament Circuit 2021
Introducing the first annual Stampede Tournament Circuit, an international online event series for Them’s Fightin’ Herds!
5 months and 4 official events (with additional community events) will culminate in August with the finale: Grand Stampede!
Details and reg here: https://smash.gg/league/stampede-tournament-circuit
Development Update #5
Introduction
With the 2.0 update and Shanty finally released, it's time for another development update, where we report the latest news on the project and provide a look into the future of TFH.
In this post we'll be covering merch (including crowdfund rewards), what to expect from the next few game updates, and things we're thinking about that are further out. Let's begin.
Merch News
Physical Crowdfund Rewards
For the past… *checks watch*... several months we've been saying that physical crowdfund rewards are in production, but we've recently hit a setback. The manufacturer we were originally going to work with has flat-out bailed on us. We have to find another one and partially start the process over.
Thankfully, everything is done from our end. We have production-ready materials all set to go (you can see some of the digital mockups here). Now that we're free from 2.0 crunch, we can ramp up our search for a new manufacturer. It's going to take more time, and we thank you all very much for your patience. This is an important order, so we have to make sure everything is right.
To backers getting physical rewards: please check that your shipping address is current by logging into Backerkit. Digital rewards are redeemed on Backerkit as well.
You can check the status of reward production here. With 2.0 out, all that's left are the physical rewards, the digital gallery (which we're discussing how to implement), pixel lobby items (including "shiny" accessories and custom characters), and the Lauren drawings. We also have the referral contest toots, and... we'd like to do more for the Backer Flair Kit. Getting closer to complete here!
If you have questions about crowdfund rewards, email us at contact@mane6.com.
Velvet Statuette
Velvet statuette preorders have exceeded 400 sold, solidifying it as our most popular single item of merch by a large margin. Last week our manufacturer reported that the mold creation step is complete. After some revisions, they can start mass-production.
There are 7 phases of production for this item:
Digital Model
Physical Sample
Mold (Initial)
Mold (Revisions) (CURRENT STEP)
Mass-Production (1 Month Estimate)
Ship to Fulfillment Service (From Factory to Gaming Generations).
Ship to Customers.
As you can see, it's now looking like the statuettes will be shipping in May instead of April, perhaps even later depending on what shipping looks like. More time was spent in the mold step than originally estimated due the manufacturer's stacked production queue and the fact that basically all of China shuts down for the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) in February.
We'll post an update when more progress is made. And yes, we want to do more characters but we have to make sure Velvet is on track before we'll feel comfortable working on any more.
Notice: If you included other items in the same order as your Velvet statuette, those items will be held until everything can ship together.
FHTNG TH§ ¿NSP§KBL? Huggable Body Pillow Case
For this year's April Fools we offered some limited-edition gag merch to provide release for souls desperate enough to sign their name and give in to temptation.
Rest assured that the production time for pillow cases will be quicker than those of the statuettes. We're working with a manufacturer now and expect those to ship to devotees customers in May.
Merch Questions?
You can purchase the official TFH merch here. There's t-shirts, pins, stickers, and more.
Eighty Sixed also carries an official cast t-shirt. Check it out here.
For questions regarding order status and shipping, please email Gaming Generations at support@gaminggenerations.com
For questions related to the store and items themselves, please email Mane6 at contact@mane6.com.
Development News
2.0 In Retrospect
2.0 and Shanty have been out for a little over two weeks now and from what we're seeing have been met with near universal acclaim, with many players saying that this is the best TFH has felt and looked ever. We couldn't be happier. There are still some tweaks and bugfixes we're working out (so expect more hotpatches in the coming weeks), but on the whole we believe this is our strongest release to date.
Shanty, our first DLC character, is available for purchase on the Humble Store and Steam. The 2.0 update is a free addition to the base game.
In case you missed it, we offered more insight into the reasoning behind the changes during our 2.0 post-patch stream.
Notice: Remember that all crowdfund backers received one Shanty key as a reward for helping us fund her development.
Full HD Upgrade (Version 2.1)
TFH currently operates at a native resolution of 1280x720 and scales up or down from there (something we inherited from the Skullgirls engine). It's about time we modernized and re-exported all art in the game to a native resolution of 1920x1080.
That may not sound like much of a difference, but please keep the math in mind. Going from 720 to 1080 more than doubles the amount of pixels in the art, which will result in smoother, sharper-looking visuals even at resolutions beyond 1080 (since the game will have fewer pixels to interpolate as it scales up).
We don't expect this change to affect performance much on low-power PCs, especially if they keep the resolution lower. We have no plans to do native ultra-HD resolutions like 4K. This should be good enough for now!
Version 2.1 is slated to release during the first half of May. No other updates past 2.1 have announced release windows as of this writing.
Native Mac Support (Version 2.2)
With the Linux port finally released, it's time to direct our attention on Mac. Not much else needs to be done here except navigating the particulars of Apple's walled garden. It's not far ahead, and there's a chance it could be ready for 2.1, but we'll just have to see.
Notice: Mac users can still play TFH now using Wine or the Steam Play feature. Native support improves performance significantly over compatibility programs and emulators.
If you're interested in a technical discussion regarding our implementation of the Mac port, please email contact@mane6.com.
Level 3 Supers (Version 3.0)
Development on level 3s was started long ago but was paused to work on Chapter 1 of Story Mode, then delayed further by a desire to get Shanty out next. Now that both of those are complete, our combat team and animators can shift focus back to finishing level 3s. Check our preview stream here to see where we left off.
Level 3s are powerful cinematic supers that use all 3 bars of meter. They will release for all characters simultaneously. Since this will be an introduction of a major combat mechanic, we'll be bumping up the major version number from 2.0 to 3.0.
Story Mode: Chapter 2 (Version 3.1)
We are actively working on Velvet's chapter now. Production will proceed faster than before now that our tools are already in place from Chapter 1 and we're clear of obligations for 2.0.
When our combat team is finished working on level 3s, they'll join the rest of the Story Mode squad to script out the boss fights and close things out.
Under Consideration
More Characters
Oh sure you bet'cha we want more characters, but not until Chapter 2 is out. Please accept the reassurance that Nappy won't be able to rest until he gets a grappler in the game.
Ranked Play
We know how important ranked mode is to some players and for TFH to feel more like a "full" competitive game, but we just don't think we're ready to do it yet. Possibly for a while.
A worthy ranked mode needs two things: a good ladder system, and players to play with. Even if we were able to implement the best ranked system ever made in video games, we can't do much about TFH's relatively small playerbase at present (compared to AAA titles with legacy IPs).
Players who play ranked modes expect to be able to churn through an abundance of evenly-matched opponents at a rapid pace. As a rising underdog indie title, we don't think we can meet that expectation until the game grows more.
In the meantime we're more likely to look at proper progression systems for single player modes or a redesign of the casual level-up system.
In short, we don't want a ranked mode just to have it. It has to be good, and there has to be a large community to support it. That's just how we feel about it.
Console Ports
We have heard the requests. We very much want to do console ports and have been keeping it in mind as we work on other things, but unfortunately it's not that simple! Console ports are time-consuming, expensive projects, and we currently have no plans for it. We'll let you all know if that ever changes!
Conclusion
Thanks very much for reading this development update! Join the discussion in our Discord server (discord.gg/tfh) and on Twitter (@mane6dev).
Until next time,
Aaron Stavely President, Mane6
Patch Notes - Version 2.0.3
Pixel Lobby
Fixed players getting stuck in the trees in a certain area of Oleander's lobby when attempting to navigate off the beaten path.
Fixed several accessories that had the wrong-colored outlines (for their rareness) in the shop.
Fixed missing glyphs in some items' flavor text.
Gameplay
General
Cross Canter now deals less damage. (It was causing way more than intended due to the 2.0 damage changes.)
Fixed preblock interacting strangely (jittering) with air movement options.
Fixed a Dynamic Music System bug that caused the P2 Shanty intro to play late on Pom's stage.
Fixed an instance of opponents falling out of Ice Cyclone prematurely when activating Frostbite.
Fixed Cinnamon Roll staying active if Paprika was immediately sent into a hard knockdown (for example, getting hit with the second hit of Belly Flop).
Temporarily removed the bury-on-KO property of Fred's charged 2D.
This property was intended to be a fun cosmetic effect, but it was popping up in non-KO situations, causing an unintended knockdown state and disrupting regular gameplay. If something like this happens incorrectly even once, it's a serious problem.
Due to the 2.0 damage calculation changes, attacks like this (that have to check the opponent’s healthbar vs. its own damage output mid-combo) got slightly thrown off, which we went through and fixed individually before the release. It turns out the fix for this particular attack was off by a small margin, so we're removing it until we can ensure the bury state only happens on KOs with 100% accuracy. Sorry about that!
Fixed Shanty's P2 intro only playing one line most of the time.
Patch Notes - Version 2.0.2
Small hotfix going out to fix a few issues with replays and some issues unique to Linux.
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue with replay saving that would cause duplicate files being created, and desyncs even when played back in versions they were recorded in.
Fixed an issue with replays where changing gameplay settings (like time and rounds) would cause replay files to break.
Fixed Mane6 player portrait banner showing instead of backer banner in the replay browser menu.
Linux: Fixes towards visual errors of background blur effects on level 2 supers.
Linux: Fixed a Story Mode softlock situation during dialogue in the outer tavern in Reine.
Patch Notes - Version 2.0.1 (Including Day 1 Hotfixes)
Day 1 Hotfixes
Fixed the Shanty DLC check destroying her in battle shrines.
Fixed an issue with an Oleander intro causing players to get locked out of any and all inputs.
Fixed a crash when accepting a matchmaking invite from Training Mode.
v2.0.1 Fixes
Pixel Lobby
Fixed Rastaman/Rastacap not showing the right item category.
Fixed the Rastacap displaying the wrong rarity in icon.
Fixed current batch items displaying the wrong rarity in tooltips.
Fixed land tiles incorrectly applying water tile properties across several maps (story and lobby).
Linux-Specific
Fixed match result communication not working correctly in Salt Mines.
Fixed a crash when entering the replays menu.
General
Fixed the Anisotropic Filtering option getting stuck on a value on not being able to be changed.
Fixed menu display issues when accepting a classic lobby invite from story mode chapter select.
Fixed being able to bring up the tutorial input display with the Training Utility button in Story Mode.
Fixed the Background Character option defaulting to "2" for some people.
Potentially fixed the main menu music playing during some p2p invite fights.
Gameplay
General
Changed the backer credit on Tianhuo's "Violet" palette to BackwardCap, by backer request.
Fixed an issue where damage could be inconsistent when punishing attacks.
Fixed some inconsistent behavior with the Shanty DLC check when Steam library sharing.
Fixed some players not having the correct music for a stage while spectating.
Fixed an issue where Arizona Counter would not apply the first hit bonus damage when hitting as a counter-hit.
Fixed a mirror match intro problem.
Fixed not being able to counterhit the airborne portion of Cannonball recovery.
Fixed a Wall Cling problem involving a second Shanty swapping walls at the same time.
Fixed Shanty having extra legs at the end of her backdash animation.
Patch Notes - Version 2.0
It's finally here! 2.0 is our biggest update yet, with patch notes so long that we've exceeded our character limit on both the forums and Steam for a single post.
2.0 Update Highlights
New DLC Character: Shanty the Goat (with a new stage: The Capricorn).
Balance changes for all characters and some universal systems.
New Pixel Lobby: Hallowed Grove.
New Stage: Hidden Waterfall.
New Feature: Replays
Native Linux support added.
Full Patch Notes
Please follow this link to our forums to get the full patch notes:
Suffice to say, there is SO much to dig into here. Thanks again for all your patience and excitement! We're proud to be able to finally show off what we've been working on over the last few months.
Mane6 will be conducting a 2.0 Post-Patch stream on Friday the 26th at 1PM PDT, during which we review the patch notes and offer our thoughts on the intent behind the changes. Stream link is https://twitch.tv/mane6dev.
2.0 Release Date, Shanty DLC Info
Let's get straight to it! Version 2.0 (a free update to the base game) will be released on March 25th, 2021! That's just over two weeks from now!
No specific release time has been confirmed yet (the one on the Steam announcement is arbitrary), but we'll be announcing updates moment-by-moment the day of. Join our Discord server (discord.gg/tfh) to stay in touch!
2.0 Update Highlights
There are 15 pages of patch notes so far, but some of the biggest things to look forward to include:
A sweep of rebalancing and bugfixes for all characters (along with some universal system changes).
New Pixel Lobby: Hallowed Grove (Oleander's lobby), and new hats!
New replay system (check out our video preview here.)
Credits roll added.
A first round of general menu remastering.
Native Linux support added (with Mac to follow in a future update).
Shanty DLC
As part of the 2.0 update, our first DLC fighter Shanty the Goat will be charging into the fray!
Details
The Shanty DLC package will cost $4.99 USD (subject to regional pricing) and includes the following items:
Shanty as an additional playable character.
The Capricorn (Shanty's stage), featuring fully dynamic music for all characters.
Shanty Pixel Lobby avatar.
BONUS: Owners of the Shanty DLC will get access to Shanty's Story Mode chapter when it is released later (after the main story chapters are finished, ETA TBD).
NOTICE: All crowdfund backers will be sent one Shanty DLC key as part of their promised rewards for helping us reach our stretch goal to fund Shanty's development. We plan to ship the keys out a few days before release so you'll be ready to play the moment the update goes live!
DLC FAQ
Will there be a "try before you buy" option? No. You must own the Shanty DLC to select Shanty (or her stage) in any mode.
Can I still fight a Shanty CPU? Yes, but indirectly. Shanty will show up by herself in Arcade Mode and the Salt Mines.
Can my human opponent still pick Shanty? Yes. In online versus, your opponent is not blocked from selecting Shanty (or her stage) if they own the DLC and you don't.
Conclusion
We're taking questions about the update over in our Discord server, and there will be more revealed in the days leading up to release. See you on March 25th!
Holiday Event End - Version 1.4.4
The Holiday event of 2020-2021 has come to an end. The Pixel Lobbies have been returned to their normal appearances, and the new seasonal items have been added to the regular shop rotation. In addition, we have some small cosmetic adjustments going out with this patch. Read on:
Pixel Lobby
The Trusty Lantern accessory is now a neck slot item (previously face).
Fixed some layering issues in Paprika's lobby.
Fires now produce a fire sound effect.
The sprite for the Ushanka accessory has been moved one pixel to the right for a better fit.
A recall has been issued on the MiniCashmere accessory. We've seamlessly replaced it with a truer-to-life model and the bootleg copies have been disposed of. We suspect they were dispensed by an unauthorized Reindeer imposter, who will be found and brought to justice.
Development Update #4
Introduction
It's the first Monday of 2021, and Mane6 is back in the office after a holiday/new year break! In Development Update #4 we're discussing a variety of topics, including the new merch we released a few months back, plans for the Linux port, and the status of Shanty and the 2.0 patch.
This will be a mix of new and old info here. If this is your first time reading one of my Development Updates, know that I've brought some basics forward to ensure the most common questions are answered. So, let's begin!
Merchandise News
Physical Crowdfund Rewards
Physical crowdfund rewards are still in production, but they've been taking longer to manufacture than we'd like. We've hit a number of logistical slowdowns due to the complexity of the order, timing around the holiday season, and selecting for quality... all on top of the pandemic. Please bear with us while we continue to wrangle this up!
If you're a backer and you're getting physical rewards, please ensure your shipping address is up to date by logging into Backerkit: https://them-s-fightin-herds.backerkit.com/
If you have a question about crowdfund rewards, email us at contact@mane6.com.
New Merch Status
The new character t-shirts we launched in November have arrived, so they'll be shipping out to customers starting this week! Thanks to everyone who made a purchase during the preorder period. There's more to go around so head over to our official merch site to get yours!
The Velvet statuette production goal was reached (and then some) with a total of 340 sales to date and counting. We're now looking at doing more characters and even other types of collectibles, too! Thanks so much for your support!
If you ordered any other items along with your Velvet statuette, we'll be splitting the orders and shipping out the on-hand items later this week. EDIT: The above statement was given in error. We decided to return to the original plan, which is to hold orders that included additional items until the Velvet statuette is in stock.
Please see this post on our forums for more information.
Development News: The 2.0 Update
Linux Is Now A Part Of 2.0
The good news is: the Linux port is done. Actually done. The bad news is: we need to change our plans to ship it by itself as a 1.5 update.
Long story short, the general codebase is too far ahead of what's currently on "live". After months of rigorous 2.0 development, we're past the point where those changes can be cleanly rolled back to make everything match up. The best thing for us to do in order to ensure a more efficient, stable release is hold back the native Linux port until it can go out safely alongside 2.0.
Meanwhile, we've been working on the preparation steps for the Mac port. That's not expected to ship with 2.0, as we want to give the Linux port some time in the wild first, which the Mac port will be based on.
Some basic info about this: The Linux, Mac, and Windows versions on Steam will all be part of the same application. All three will have crossplay and no additional purchase will be necessary.
New Character: Shanty
A lot of progress has been made on Shanty since her last public appearance. Check out this gif of her stand idle! Her combat is mostly worked out but there's still more animation, effects, and sound polish to do. We're excited to reveal it all, but the new year has only just begun! We need more time to settle in and take stock of things before we'll feel ready for a showcase.
As stated in the previous Development Update, a voice actress for Shanty has been selected and we've already recorded all her lines. An introduction is coming, but we feel like we should do something more special for it, so we're keeping it confidential for now.
More basic info: Shanty will be released in a paid DLC package that also includes her stage and Pixel Lobby avatar. The price has not been announced yet. All crowdfund backers will receive this DLC for free as a reward for helping us attain the stretch goal that made her development possible. Thank you!
Regardless if you own Shanty or not, you'll still be able to play against her online if your opponent has her, and she'll show up in arcade mode. She won't be selectable in any modes unless you have the DLC.
If you haven't already seen our initial Shanty gameplay reveal stream, check it out here: [previewyoutube="gYaGEUEwZac;leftthumb"]https://youtu.be/gYaGEUEwZac[/previewyoutube]
Balance Changes & Gameplay Bugfixes
TFH will be receiving an all-around balance update and bugfix pass to coincide with the release of Shanty. All characters and even a few universal systems will be adjusted.
New Pixel Lobby Map: The Woodlands
Oleander's home turf (in Pixel Lobby form) will be included with the 2.0 update. Along with a new map, there will also be new hats!
The Match Replay System
A match replay system is coming to TFH in 2.0, packed with cool playback features like rewinding, skipping, bookmarking, and advanced training mode info displays. The replay files will be super shareable, and we'll have plenty of options for auto-saving, manual saving, or not even being asked to save at all!
We're in the polish step here, that last 10% where we're quality-checking and tweaking little things all around. We don't anticipate doing a showcase of the replay system until our full breakdown in the 2.0 post-patch stream, but we'll see!
For Consideration Later (In No Particular Order)
Here's what we intend to work on after 2.0 ships. To our regulars: there's not really any new info here. We're just reposting for all the new people!
Level 3 Supers (Game Version 3.0)
Development on level 3s is decently far along, but we put them on hold until after 2.0 ships. We'll need our combat director's total focus to make sure the numerous interactions and edge-cases are ironed out. Check the preview stream here to see where we left off.
Story Mode: Chapter 2
Preproduction on Velvet's chapter is currently underway. When our combat team is finished working on level 3s, they'll join the rest of the Story Mode squad to script out the boss fights and close things out.
Ranked Play
We'd like to look at progression systems across the board in TFH. Not just ranked. There are many ways to do ranked play but they're very hard to get right, so we're taking our time on this one. We're still in the research phase, and it may be awhile before this rolls out.
Console Ports
Though we currently have no plans for console ports, we want to acknowledge that we definitely want to do them if we can. Thankfully, our work on the Linux & Mac ports will make it easier if we ever get the opportunity.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading! While this should provide a good overview of all the big stuff we're working on, it's not an exhaustive list. If you have questions about anything in particular, please join our Discord server (discord.gg/tfh) and ask us devs directly!
Tomorrow morning our Holiday event ends, so last chance to grab the new hats from Cap'n'Cash before they go in with the regular rotation!
Finally, wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Let's make 2021 a good one. Talk again soon!
